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pursuing sustainability as an objective becomes challenging when it conflicts with
the objectives of energy security or the affordability of energy. This is acknowledged in the ECT, for example, which states that contracting parties should strive to
minimize environmentally harmful impacts but should do so economically efficiently and take safety into account (Article 19(1) of the ECT). Interruptions in
energy supply are considered politically unacceptable and, as a result, governments
are unlikely to allow interruptions in the interest of pursuing sustainability objectives.
6.3 International Water Law
International water law applies to the uses and protection of international freshwater
resources.
Approximately half of the earth’s surface, containing about 40 percent of the
world’s population (3.1 Billion), is contained within 263 transboundary lake and
river basins. There are hundreds of transboundary groundwater aquifers. International
waters constitute an estimated 60% of global freshwater flow and have a great
impact on economic development, poverty reduction, and the attainment of the
Sustainable Development Goals (see Sect. 3.7).
Early international water agreements concentrated primarily on the regulation of
navigation and fishing. However, today, international water law mainly relates to
water uses such as hydropower production and irrigation.
6.3.1 Two Conventions
International water law was codified by the 1966 International Law Association
(ILA) non-binding Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International
Rivers (ILA 1967).
Currently, there are two global water conventions in force:
1. The 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses
and International Lakes (ECE Water Convention or ECEWC). This Convention
was established as a regional convention under the auspices of the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and went into effect in 1996. It
was amended from a regional convention to a global convention in 2013.
2. The 1997 Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International
Watercourses (United Nations Watercourses Convention or “UNWC”) which
entered into force in 2014.
In addition, States have concluded hundreds of bilateral and multilateral water
agreements dating back centuries, although many transboundary water bodies
remain outside the scope of these agreements. The provisions of the two global
water conventions are compatible and mostly complementary (McCaffrey 2014).
6 International Governance
pursuing sustainability as an objective becomes challenging when it conflicts with
the objectives of energy security or the affordability of energy. This is acknowledged in the ECT, for example, which states that contracting parties should strive to
minimize environmentally harmful impacts but should do so economically efficiently and take safety into account (Article 19(1) of the ECT). Interruptions in
energy supply are considered politically unacceptable and, as a result, governments
are unlikely to allow interruptions in the interest of pursuing sustainability objectives.
6.3 International Water Law
International water law applies to the uses and protection of international freshwater
resources.
Approximately half of the earth’s surface, containing about 40 percent of the
world’s population (3.1 Billion), is contained within 263 transboundary lake and
river basins. There are hundreds of transboundary groundwater aquifers. International
waters constitute an estimated 60% of global freshwater flow and have a great
impact on economic development, poverty reduction, and the attainment of the
Sustainable Development Goals (see Sect. 3.7).
Early international water agreements concentrated primarily on the regulation of
navigation and fishing. However, today, international water law mainly relates to
water uses such as hydropower production and irrigation.
6.3.1 Two Conventions
International water law was codified by the 1966 International Law Association
(ILA) non-binding Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International
Rivers (ILA 1967).
Currently, there are two global water conventions in force:
1. The 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses
and International Lakes (ECE Water Convention or ECEWC). This Convention
was established as a regional convention under the auspices of the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and went into effect in 1996. It
was amended from a regional convention to a global convention in 2013.
2. The 1997 Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International
Watercourses (United Nations Watercourses Convention or “UNWC”) which
entered into force in 2014.
In addition, States have concluded hundreds of bilateral and multilateral water
agreements dating back centuries, although many transboundary water bodies
remain outside the scope of these agreements. The provisions of the two global
water conventions are compatible and mostly complementary (McCaffrey 2014).
6 International Governance